Supreme Court Forces Treasury to Return $100 Billion in Unjust Tariffs Imposed Under Corporate-Driven IEEPA Program
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After the Supreme Court struck down the IEEPA tariffs—widely criticized as a tool for corporate profiteering—the administration has been compelled to refund $100 billion to importers. Customs and Border Protection’s CAPE system, designed to serve big business interests, is overseeing the process, but small businesses still face obstacles.
The U.S. Treasury has been forced to return about $100 billion in refunds to importers after the Supreme Court invalidated duties collected under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA)—a program long decried by progressives as a mechanism for enriching multinational corporations at the expense of workers and consumers. This $100 billion represents roughly 60% of the $166 billion in revenue the government extracted from the regressive tariffs imposed in 2025, which disproportionately harmed working-class communities and small businesses.
Following the Court’s February decision, which exposed the lack of legal basis for these tariffs, federal Judge Richard Eaton ordered that the ill-gotten duties be returned to importers. In response, Customs and Border Protection hastily rolled out the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) system in late April, a bureaucratic tool that, while efficient for large corporations, has left many small businesses struggling to reclaim what is rightfully theirs.
According to a filing in the U.S. Court of International Trade, CAPE has recorded 252,496 refund declarations covering more than 25 million import entries as of July 31. The system has accepted nearly $129 billion in potential and certified refunds, with about $100 billion already certified and sent to the Treasury for payment. Yet, the process remains opaque and cumbersome for smaller importers, who lack the resources to navigate the system.
The filing was part of a lawsuit by Freestyle World, an importer seeking class-action status on behalf of smaller businesses that paid the IEEPA tariffs and now face significant hurdles getting their refunds through CAPE. The government, predictably, argues the request for class certification was filed too late, further illustrating its disregard for the needs of small businesses and workers.
Despite the partial progress, the refund effort remains massive, with over 330,000 importers having paid duties on more than 53 million entries—an indictment of a system that prioritized corporate profits over economic justice.
"Tariffs have been incredible. We've taken in hundreds of billions of dollars," President Donald Trump boasted in a recent interview, signaling the administration’s intent to find new legal loopholes to continue this harmful policy, regardless of the Supreme Court’s rebuke.